I declared my major in journalism and media studies in the second month of my first semester of my first year here at RU-N. When people ask what my major is, I tell them "Journalism and Media Studies," and then I get stared at, and they say, "oh...okay, but why?" I'd have some friends who would answer for me and say, "An English major is easy," while another one shouts back saying, "leave her alone. She can do what she wants."
I am a non traditional pre-med student. I am not a bio major, or a chemistry major, and I definitely was never going to be a physics major. I took a journalism class in high school and I fell in love. It was fun, and oddly enough, a stress reliever, too. I can't always explain exactly what I love about both the medical field and journalism, and that is something I want to accomplish for this project. I was introduce a new conversation into our society. Non traditional students get often overlooked, misunderstood, and looked down upon.
In my presentation, I want to merge medicine and journalism. I want to give students like myself a voice. I talk about the unfairness all the time, but it is always a private conversation. Students get scared to switch to a humanities major because for some bizarre reason, people think bio majors are guaranteed entry into medical school. I want to break that stereotype, and I also want to educate people about the real struggles and gains that have come from my lifestyle.
Things I may talk about:
- comparison between docs and journalists
- Mock Interview with med schools
- How I will incorporate my work with the magazine without it sounding like it's all I've been doing (admissions people will 100% think that, no matter what else I have done)
- Discuss Doctors Without Borders (where journalism and medicine collide)
-etc. (more to come)
I may turn some of this into a video, and have that be my intro blog post. No, I do not have a personal blog, and yes, I know I have to make one. I plan to have one up and running by the end of the semester.
I want to be a doctor and a journalist, and I am sick of being told I can't, or "Oh...That's.........Interesting."
Hi Zeinab! I started out college as a biology major thinking I wanted to be a doctor and am now a journalism major, so I understand your dual interests! There are so many topics you could explore with this project that would be journalistic, but still something to be proud to show to med school. I think a story about Doctors without Borders could be interesting, or you could write about a public health issue. In recent years we've learned a lot about early childhood development, and that's driving a lot of public health initiatives. Look up the Thirty Million Words project, that was super interesting to me! There are also groups educating young/low income mothers to put babies on their backs to sleep to reduce the occurrence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Doing an interview with one of those groups could make for a great project. I also have a few other ideas if you want to talk to me in class. Good luck!
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